Kolkata:
Powered by an enterprising half century from skipper Gautam Gambhir and a cameo from Surya Yadav, defending champions Kolkata Knight Riders trounced Mumbai Indians by seven wickets in the eighth IPL opener at the Eden Gardens here on Wednesday.
Young gun Yadav (46 not out; 20b, 1x4, 5x6) and big hitting Yusuf Pathan (14; 12b, 1x4, 1x6) took KKR to a winning 170/3 with nine balls to spare as Mumbai skipper Rohit Sharma's elegant unbeaten 98 went in vain.
The visitors had notched up 170/3 earlier in the evening before a 50,000-plus crowd at the giant colosseum.
Yadav and Pathan were involved in a rollicking 49-run stand of only 25 balls to kick start the Knights' title defence with a bang.